Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs regarding prenatal alcohol consumption among women in Leyte, the Philippines.

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) captures the broad range of emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and congenital abnormalities associated with maternal alcohol consumption, and women living in resource-limited settings may be higher risk. This study aims to examine knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs (KAPB) of women in Leyte, The Philippines regarding prenatal alcohol consumption. Methods: One hundred postpartum women were recruited from a birth cohort in Leyte. A prenatal alcohol use KAPB survey was constructed in Waray, the local language. The survey was administered in June-September 2019. Descriptive statistics, chi-squared test, and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze responses. Results: Seventy-five percent of subjects reported drinking tuba, a local palm wine, during pregnancy. Most participants (75%) did not believe tuba contained alcohol. Women who believed tuba contains no alcohol were more likely to drink tuba during pregnancy (81.3%) than women who believed tuba contains alcohol (56.0%), X2(1, N = 100) = 6.41, p = .011. Women who drank tuba during pregnancy were more likely to believe tuba has health benefits (60%) than women who did not drink tuba during pregnancy (12%), Fisher's exact p < .05, citing increased red blood cell count and unproven antiparasitic qualities. Fifteen percent of subjects reported having fed their babies tuba. Nearly all (98%) were willing to attenuate tuba/alcohol consumption if told that this practice negatively impacts pregnancies. Conclusion: Misinformation about tuba appears widespread in Leyte. Educating women of reproductive age in Leyte regarding prenatal tuba use may lead to a reduction in tuba use.